Sunday, April 14, 2013

Review - A Haunted House (2013)

Marlon Wayans is back in the comedy horror spoof world. A Haunted House features a cast of comedians and it follows the couple Malcolm (Marlon Wayans) and Kisha (Essence Atkins) as they begin life together and move into their new home, only to find out that it is haunted.

The movie is shot in found footage style and I must say, this was probably the greatest aspect of the film. As in, the found footage style was put to good use; it pretty much shows us every ghostly happenings which occurred in the movie, even while the couple was asleep. This was effective in providing me with a few laughs at the gimmicks but sadly A Haunted House suffered from forced humor which ended up drowning the experience. The script is bad so for most of the film, I was subjected to some annoying dialogue and corny acting. The leads Marlon Wayans and Essence Atkins had their good and bad moments of over-acting. Amidst it all, Cedric the Entertainer's character was the bright spark. I believe he was the least corny character and his lines and presence were adding. Nick Swardson's character was the worst of them all.

The movie starts out about the couple's relationship then slowly transitions into comedy horror. The story is nothing special; it's your typical house haunting. The film is mostly spoofs of the movies Paranormal Activity and The Devil Inside with added elements from other films. I was kind of hoping that this would be something close to the Scary Movie franchise (well the first two Scary Movie films anyways) in terms of humor, seeing that Marlon Wayans was apart of it. It tries to be silly fun but comes off as mostly stupid but I won't deny that I found myself a few times laughing at the film's absurd silliness. A Haunted House seeks to make fun of the found footage horror genre, possessions and hauntings but failed to do so consistently. Better writers and perhaps a better director could have made this movie a little better than it was.

I like how found footage was used in this film but sadly A Haunted House came across too forced, corny and the ending of the movie was just plain dumb. I got a few laughs but this was overall forgettable.

Rating: 4.5/10

Movies Also Watched:

Dune (1984)
I admire David Lynch's attempt at the space opera genre. Though the film does have some good visual moments, the story didn't grab me as much. - 6.5/10

The Straight Story (1999)
David Lynch's most sane and also heart-warming film. - 9/10

Ghost World (2001)
A slow-paced dramedy with likable characters and story. - 8/10

Rain Man (1988)
Usually these kind of movies are about kids and Dustin Hoffman played that "big kid" well. Tom Cruise was equally as impressive alongside him. - 9.5/10

Chopper (2000)
I didn't know who Chopper Read was before this movie but thanks to Eric Bana who made the character and movie worthwhile. - 8.5/10